Bleacher Report - San Francisco 49ers

It's Back to the Drawing Board for Mike Singletary and the 49ers

Steven Resnick — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:42:10 -0500

The San Francisco 49ers again did not show up in a game this time against the Green Bay Packers. While the 30-24 score represents a valiant effort in the second half by the 49ers, the question remains: What happened in the first half?

In the first half, 49ers fans were treated to the same issues that have been plaguing the 49ers all season long. That is poor offensive line play, a lack of any rational play-calling, poor tackling, a soft secondary, and absolutely no pass rush.

With those issues, it's not hard to understand how the Packers scored 23 points in the first half. I will say the defense did a good job in holding the Packers to field goals after some big plays by the Packers offense.

Other then that though, there really wasn't anything positive going for the 49ers in the first half. Offensively the 49ers ran only 18 plays the entire half, while the Packers ran 48 plays.

It also didn't bode well for the 49ers that Frank Gore only had five carries in the first half and in total had only seven carries the entire game. There's something wrong with that picture when one of the best running backs in the NFL only gets seven carries.

What's sad about that is the fact that Gore started out on his first carry with a nice 42 yard run. He was then given the ball again picked up a yard, the 49ers ran a reverse with Josh Morgan which picked up eight yards and was pretty close to a first down.

The 49ers had basically a third and inches situation. Instead of giving the ball to Gore though, it was a fullback dive with Moran Norris who actually lost yardage on the play and the 49ers had to settle for a field goal.

Not getting the ball to Gore in that situation not a great idea. What I also have a hard time understanding is why Vernon Davis wasn't utilized in the passing game either in the first half, and the same can be said for Michael Crabtree.

When the two best receivers on the team can't get the ball the 49ers are not going to be winning very many games and it's not hard to see why the 49ers were trailing 23-3.

In the second half though the 49ers offense came alive, and throughout the half the 49ers had to throw the ball. It's not hard to see why the 49ers were able to come back to make the final score look respectable.

Alex Smith was able to find Davis, Crabtree, and Gore for touchdown passes. Unfortunately for the 49ers, they were not able to come up with one last big stop to get the ball back and see if Smith could complete the comeback.

Davis finished with five catches in the second half for 104 yards and Crabtree in the second half finished with three catches and 71 yards.

Smith seems to do well when the 49ers are behind and he has to make throws. The question is, why not call the type of plays that utilize Smith's abilities? He seems to have confidence in a more hurried situation, so why not do that?

Over on the defensive side the 49ers looked bad in the first half too. There was absolutely no pressure on Aaron Rodgers, which allowed for him to throw 31 times completing 22 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns.

At that time of the game it meant that the 49ers had allowed for 83 passes to be thrown in the last six quarters, and the defense had no sacks. In the second half the 49ers were able to sack Rodgers twice and held him to 72 yards passing.

But, that really had to do with the fact that the Packers were trying to run as much clock as possible. Ryan Grant, the Packers running back, sliced through the 49ers defense with 21 carries, 129 yards, and a touchdown.

What's frustrating is the fact that coming into the game the Packers offensive line had been bad, allowing the most sacks coming in to the game. Yet, the 49ers couldn't get to Rodgers until the game was pretty much out of reach.

So, after this performance by the 49ers, especially in the first half, fans should be worried about what's going to happen against Jacksonville. Jacksonville has one of the premiere running backs in the league in Maurice Jones-Drew, and in the passing game, Mike Sims-Walker has really made name for himself.

Does this mean the 49ers are looking at 4-7 after next week's game? Possibly. What will be interesting to see is the reaction of Mike Singletary after this loss to the Packers.

I think it's time for him to stop being so positive and it's time for him to get angry, especially with the offensive line and how pathetic it looked in the first half. There was absolutely no excuse for the play of the offensive line in the first half.

At the end of the season it just means that there's definitely going to be changes. I would say that first to go is Chris Foerster the 49ers offensive line coach.

On the defensive side of the ball, Vance Joseph and Johnnie Lynn also need to be fired because so far the most inconsistent aspect to the 49ers defense has been the play of the secondary.

Jimmy Raye the offensive coordinator should be fired at the end of the season. He has been awful and it's hard to understand at this point in the season the justification of hiring Raye to begin with.

I would say that Greg Manusky should be on the hotseat at defensive coordinator. If the 49ers defense doesn't find a way to get more pressure on the quarterback, then Manusky should be fired.

Manusky has done a great job with the defense and stopping the run, but against the pass the 49ers have been one of the worst teams in the NFL, and today's game against the Packers didn't help their cause either.

Coming into the game, the 49ers ranked 29th in passing yards allowed and 29th in completions allowed. That's not getting it done against the pass.

If the season were to end today it's obvious that there are certain assistant coaches and coordinators who are just not getting the job done and should be let go by Singletary.

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A Loss in Green Bay: Why the 49ers Didn't Beat the Packers

Andy Bensch — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:07:44 -0500

Everyone involved in football—the players, coaches, management personnel, and owners—knows what the San Francisco 49ers want to be. They want to be a team that wins in the trenches.

According to head coach Mike Singletary, the 49ers win with a tough physical defense, and an offense that relies on a smash mouth running style of football.

If this is the case, then why are the 49ers second-to-last in the league in three-and-out possessions?

Why do they continuously lose the time of possession battle?

Why do they continue to put the ball in the hands of their mediocre quarterback, Alex Smith?

San Francisco's 30-24 loss at the hands of the Green Bay Packers on Sunday exemplifies all that is wrong with the 49ers.

The 49ers' offense fails time and time again to utilize its best assets. Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree were held to just one catch each in the first half, as their quarterback completed just three passes for five total yards before halftime.

But that wasn't the worst part. The abandonment of the running game was absolutely inexcusable.

In the first half, Frank Gore gained 56 yards but was given the ball just five times on the ground and only six total touches. He lost five yards on his lone reception because of a terrible screen setup and an equally horrendous decision from Smith, who should have thrown the ball away instead.

San Francisco's top three offensive threats made just eight plays during the first half, so it should come as no shock that they possessed the ball for a minuscule 7:20 compared to Green Bay's 22:19.

By running just 17 offensive plays, the 49ers left their supposedly "physical, hit you in the mouth" defense out to dry.

Without cornerback Nate Clements and linebacker Takeo Spikes, the 49ers' defense was short-handed coming into the game, and the 49ers's offense needed to keep them off the field, which it was never able to do.

Although the 49ers outscored Green Bay 21-7 in the second half, they ran just 29 offensive plays, only two of which were Frank Gore runs.

Coincidentally, the 49ers held onto the ball for just over 11 minutes in the last two quarters, compared to Green Bay's 19 minutes and 10 seconds.

Quarterback Alex Smith's lone interception came on a first-down play from his own one-yard line. He overthrew because of miscommunication with Davis, but it is offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye who needs a talking to.

Nine out of 10 times in that situation, an NFL team runs the football. Throwing down field in that situation was a horrid mistake.

At the time, the 49ers' defense had held up and given the ball back to their offense, trailing just 23-10 with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter.

As San Francisco fans have seen all year, teams—whether good or bad—can put up points in very short amount of time.

Down just two scores with over 13 minutes remaining and possession of the ball, there was no need to hurry.

But as it turns out, Raye put too much of the game in Smith's hands and didn't allow Gore to get the running game going in the second half.

At the very least, the 49ers needed to run the ball a couple of times to get out of their own end-zone, but instead the only play of the drive was an interception.

Gore would finish the game with only 10 touches. That's right, the 49ers' best weapon had his number called just 10 times out of their 46 offensive plays.

If that is not a sign of poor play calling, I don't know what is.

Remember, since Gore became the starter, the 49ers are 15-3 when he gets over 20 carries. When he doesn't, San Francisco's record drops to 7-28.

At this rate, the 49ers are going to have their eighth different offensive coordinator in eight seasons next year, because there is no way Jimmy Raye returns.

The game against Green Bay solidified his ineptitude as a play caller.

Though the 49er defense didn't fare any better, they were much less to blame for Sunday's loss. Granted, they failed to bring pressure on Aaron Rodgers, but the defense did everything they could to give their team a chance.

Without two vital starters and a defensive coordinator in Greg Manusky, who limited his unit's chance at success by neglecting to blitz, it's easy to understand why the Packers were able to move the ball up and down the field.

But despite the lack of blitzing, the players on defense executed to the best of their ability and, in the second half, held Green Bay to just seven points.

A Ryan Grant one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, which replenished Green Bay's three-score lead, should be put on Alex Smith, whose interception gave the Packers a short field on that drive.

Other than that one score, the tired, beat-up, and worn-out defense kept San Francisco in the game by keeping Green Bay off the scoreboard.

If the offense had stuck to their run-first-and-run-often identity in the first half, perhaps the defense would have been fresh enough to execute better.

But with an incompetent coaching staff, highlighted by an awful offensive coordinator, the 49ers came into Sunday's game with the worst possible game-plan.

This team is suppose to play a smash mouth style on offense and a hard-hitting, punishing style of defense.

They are suppose to win games by keeping the opposing offense off the field. They cannot and will not win games when their opponent holds on to the ball for more than twice as long.

While watching the game on Sunday, it appeared as if the 49ers coaching staff thought throwing the football on offense and sending just four rushers on defense was their gameplan to beat the Packers.

But the 49ers played exactly opposite of the way they should have.

Since the 49ers typically don't blitz and don't have a strong pass rush with just their front four—21st in sacks heading into Sunday's game—the defensive gameplan should have called for bringing blitzers from multiple angles to try and throw off Rodgers.

Offensively, the plan should have been to pound the rock time and time again. Frank Gore had just seven carries in this game, despite breaking lose for a 42-yard gain in the first half.

The running game was working, and, yet, the 49ers abandoned it.

If the coaching staff doesn't start putting their players in the best situations to succeed, the 49ers will continue to disappoint.

This was another winnable game. But poor play calling and worse execution lost it for them.

The fact they are so close to success but yet so far is what makes the 49er faithful want pull their hair out.

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San Francisco 49ers: Mike Singletary's Vision, Deferred

Brian O'Flaherty — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:53:22 -0500

After Sunday's game in Green Bay, the reality has not only become concrete, but it has set in, hard and firm. The only problem now becomes, who's going to tell Mike Singletary?

Singletary's decision to go back to the grind with his infamous “smash-mouth” philosophy has solidified what many fans feared, that Singletary is incapable of abandoning his philistine, brutish, simplistic reverie.

He wants to run smash-mouth, and there is no combination of logic, explanation, or reality based test cases, that will change Singeltary's thought process.

In an ideal 49er contrast, Bill Walsh's nightmare IS Singletary's vision. It is the opposite of what Walsh built and believed in, in every conceivable respect.

Since Mike Nolan arrived with Singletary at his hip, this warped concept has stained itself into the very brick and mortar of the 49ers headquarters in Santa Clara, which still holds those five, ever so distant Super Bowl trophies.

Second Half Salsa-Dance

“But the 49ers were throwing the ball in the second half of the Green Bay game, I think Singletary will make the switch now.”

The 49ers were throwing the ball in the second half of the Houston loss too, but much like the Green Bay loss, one cameo does not make a show, much less a theatre company.

Apparently, nothing has been learned from their brief escapades into the shotgun offense. Nothing at all. The 49ers go there, like a vacation to the Bahama's, but that is only when they are feeling down and need a breath of fresh air. They don't live there, they live nowhere close to there.

The Arctic Circle is a long trip away from their beach house getaway, and they much prefer to sleep on beach blankets in the freezing cold of the far north. That's “who they are.”

Furthermore, the 49ers didn't use the “effective offense” for the whole second half. They flirted with it. They fondled and fluttered around the idea of it. Like a drag act, they dressed it up, danced and pranced their way down the runway, but at the end of the day, the reality cannot be escaped, Singletary does not feel comfortable in that kind of dress.

What Happens to a Vision Deferred?

The reality is that the 49ers have a minuscule chance at changing their smash-mouth philosophy, and likewise, have a minuscule chance at sniffing the playoffs.

Even if they did decide to suddenly change their course, they haven't practiced the “effective offense” enough to put a serious winning streak together with it.

The real problem is that Mike Singletary does not believe that smash-mouth is a dream, he believes it is a vision.

But what happens to a vision deferred?

Does it dry up like a season in the sun?

Or fester, like smash-mouth, and run?

Does it stink like a rotten defeat?

Or crust and scab over, like a scabbed knee?

Maybe it just sags, like a heavy load.

Or will the offense explode?

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49ers Offense Was Never Playoff Caliber; Neither Was the Defense

Steven Resnick — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:35:55 -0500

After the San Francisco 49ers victory over the Chicago Bears, it seemed like the 49ers had turned the corner, especially defensively.

The team forced Jay Cutler into five interceptions, but what was not stated about the defense was they did not sack Cutler once and the Bears threw 52 times.

The offense for the 49ers was non-existent throughout much of the game. Most of that is because Jimmy Raye, the offensive coordinator for the 49ers, is as incompetent as they come.

Further proof of that came in the first half of the game against the Green Bay Packers. The 49ers were facing third and six inches, instead of giving the ball to Frank Gore to get a much-needed first down and drive the ball further down the field, Raye calls for Moran Norris who hardly ever touches the ball.

This play clued in the fact that the 49ers were running the football with Norris and instead of gaining the first down, the 49ers were stopped and lost about six inches meaning it went from third and six inches to fourth and one.

Instead of going for it on fourth down, Mike Singletary elected for a field goal and at that time it was to tied the game up at 3-3. Joe Nedney made the kick and gave the 49ers the only points of the half.

Even more frustrating was the play of the offensive line. The 49ers could not stay on the field and Alex Smith had no time to throw the football. The only true weapon on offense for the 49ers was Gore.

He only attempted five carries and gained 56 yards. His first run of the game went for 42 yards. Meaning since the 49ers first possession, Gore had only four carries for 14 yards.

Again, Raye spent too many time trying to get Smith to throw then giving the football to Gore; and you can easily see why the 49ers are trailing 23-3 at halftime. Five carries for your best player isn't going to cut it at any level of football.

The offensive line again looked pathetic, not giving Smith any time to throw in the first half. Injuries have played a role, but that's still not an excuse.

I honestly could care less if the player was the 53rd man on the roster on the offensive line, when your number is called, you should be able to play at a high level.

Defensively, though that's where the defense has been bombarded, giving up big plays after big plays. The Packers threw 31 times in the half and got 274 yards passing; even more disturbing is the fact that Rodgers hasn't been sacked.

That means in six quarters and 83 attempts by opposing quarterbacks the 49ers have picked up no sacks. That's not good defense at all, but the only difference between Cutler and Rodgers is that Rodgers makes smarter decisions with the football.

Rodgers is not going to throw five interceptions; the 49ers will be lucky to get one against him. He knows how to play football and yes the 49ers made a huge mistake in passing on Rodgers in the draft.

You also have to wonder what the heck is going through the mind of defensive coordinator Greg Manusky?

Coming into the game the Packers offensive line was in shambles and struggled to protect Rodgers. Yet, the 49ers have not put any kind of pressure on Rodgers.

There was an article written on Bleacher Report titled "Singletary's Dilemma is Playoff Defense, Pop Warner Offense ." I disagree the with the notion that the 49ers have a playoff defense, I would say they have an average defense at best, but the only category that is playoff caliber is against the run.

Throughout the season, the 49ers have been able to stop the run. Only one running back has rushed for over 100 yards against the 49ers defense; that running back was Chris Johnson. It appears at the outcome of today's game, Ryan Grant will be the second running back with 100 yards against the 49ers.

Grant has 70 yards on 10 carries in the first half. So, he just needs 30 yards to bring that total to 100 yards.

If the 49ers had a playoff caliber defense the team would be forcing turnovers against the above average teams, the team would be getting to the quarterback, and the defense would certainly be more aggressive in the secondary and not play in such a soft zone as the 49ers defensive backs play.

Those are three areas of defense in which the 49ers are below average. The only time when the 49ers have actually looked above average have been against the average to below-average teams.

I would say that the best effort defensively for the 49ers this year was against the Arizona Cardinals because that effort got the 49ers a win.

Against the Vikings and Colts, the 49ers defense played extremely well, but didn't make the plays that would get the team a win, but still that's the difference between an average defense and a great defense making the plays they need to win the game.

But, I want to get back to the fact that the 49ers pass defense is terrible; that includes the corners, safeties, and the pass rush!

Just look at the rankings; it really tells you just how awful that defense is: 29th in passing yards, 29th in completions, and 17 total sacks on the year.

With the way the 49ers are playing today, that means an average of under two sacks a game for the defense. When the Rams game is taken away, the 49ers have only 12 sacks in nine games. That's just over one sack a game.

I'm sorry Gary but I hate to burst your bubble the 49ers never had a defense that was playoff caliber.

Now the 49ers defense doesn't give up very many touchdown passes and are sixth in the league in touchdowns allowed through the air and the 49ers also rank sixth in interceptions with 11 on the season.

But, nearly half of the interceptions that the 49ers have gotten this year came against the Bears.

It wasn't surprising the 49ers were able to intercept passes from Cutler because he came into the game throwing the most interceptions in the NFL.

That means in nine games the 49ers only have had six interceptions.

The question then becomes how does the offensive line gets fixed? How does the offensive playcalling get better? How does the defense get better?

Well, for the offensive line, the 49ers can't wait to develop an offensive lineman; the team needs to spend money in the offseason and bring in an established lineman.

Same can be said with going after a pass rusher because that's one of the main components of a defense and the 49ers lack that.

In the secondary, the 49ers need to look for help in the draft. Dre Bly isn't going to be around next year, Walt Harris is about done, and Mark Roman probably isn't going to figure into the picture much next year.

There are some good young players for the 49ers in Tarell Brown, Dashon Goldson, and Curtis Taylor. I believe that you'll see more of Taylor if the 49ers find themselves out of the NFC West race and the Wildcard race.

At this time, let's not fool ourselves as 49ers fans into believing that the defense was playoff caliber, when it's clear that it never was.

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49ers Smith Can Still Prove He Was the Right Choice Over Rodgers

Michael Erler — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:36:25 -0500

Suppose some stranger comes up to you on the street and asks you, the devoted 49ers fan in your throwback Joe Montana jersey, who's better: Aaron Rodgers or Alex Smith?

Almost reflexively you answer Rodgers. I mean, really, you don't even think about it for more than a second.

Rodgers has the better numbers, he's had more immediate success, he's never been called a bust, and he was picked within the top three rounds in your fantasy draft.

Smith, by comparison, has a career 12-21 record, has never finished a season with more touchdown passes than interceptions, and wasn't taken at all in most drafts because he opened the season as San Francisco's backup.

In 33 career starts Smith has never thrown for more than 293 yards in any game. In 25 starts Rodgers has exceeded that figure eight times.

The two men will forever be linked by the 2005 draft when the 49ers, with the first pick, chose Smith out of the University of Utah, over local boy Rodgers, who went to Cal.

Yet while their media-driven rivalry seems on the surface to be as one-sided as that of a hammer and a nail, the debate isn't as cut-and-dried as the numbers suggest.

For one thing, the two men have had to deal with entirely different circumstances.

Smith was thrown, almost immediately, into his team's starting lineup—an offense completely alien to him—and surrounded by players who were undeniably terrible.

Remember, the 49ers didn't have the first overall pick in the 2005 draft by accident. They were a wretched outfit in 2004, with a roster so bereft of talent that they resembled an expansion team.

When Mike Nolan and Scot McCloughan took over the team in 2005, they were faced with a reclamation project every bit as daunting as what coach Jim Schwartz and general manager Martin Mayhew face now with the Detroit Lions.

Their running back was Kevan Barlow. The top receivers were Cedrick Wilson and Brandon Lloyd. The offensive line was a mess and while there were some names on defense (most notably a fading Bryant Young), their leading tacklers were Derek Smith and Jeff Ulbrich.

Not only did Alex Smith have to take his licks while learning then-offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy's version of the West Coast Offense (after masterfully running the spread under Urban Meyer at Utah), but he had to adjust to a whole new offense again the next season when McCarthy got hired as the Packers head coach.

And then a new offense in 2007.

And 2008.

And 2009.

The 49ers go through offensive coordinators the way you or I go through underwear, and for similar reasons.

Smith also hasn't been helped any by having to deal with coaches who are gleefully and pathologically ignorant of the quarterback position.

Nolan not only constricted Smith with his Cheney-level conservative game plans, but nearly ruined his career with his callous negligence, ordering his young quarterback to play with a separated shoulder in 2007.

Only now, after two operations, has Smith regained his arm strength.

The current 49ers regime of coach Mike Singletary and offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye, meanwhile, only lets Smith do what he does best—pass out of the shotgun—when the team is behind.

Anytime the team is winning, their "formula" is to have the quarterback play with two hands tied behind his back and ram the ball pointlessly into nine man fronts to avoid potentially messy turnovers.

Smith has started three-and-a-half games this season and had just one stinker, against Vince Young and the plucky Titans. In his other action he played Peyton Manning to a draw at Indy, was less awful than Jay Cutler against the Bears, and accomplished as much as Matt Schaub at Houston, in half the time.

Smith hasn't been great by any means, but he's trying to get by while breaking in two green receivers in Michael Crabtree and Josh Morgan, and a third one in Isaac Bruce who needed to retire last January.

It is, as they say, "a work in progress."

Contrast what Smith walked into with Rodgers' situation.

Rodgers had three years to sit on the bench and learn at Green Bay.

The offense he got drafted into wasn't all that different than what he ran at Cal under Jeff Tedford.

He's had stability with his coaching staff, and not just with McCarthy. Offensive coordinator Joe Philbin has held that post for three years and quarterbacks coach Tom Clements has been on the job for four.

McCarthy said during his conference call with Bay Area reporters that his experience with Smith shaped his philosophy with young quarterbacks, and that he is a strong proponent of the "sit-and-watch" method.

That sounds well and good when you have Brett Favre on your roster. It's not as though the 49ers pushed Steve Young out the door to make way for the Alex Smith era.

If the only other quarterbacks on Green Bay's roster were Tim Rattay, Ken Dorsey, and Cody Pickett, then Rodgers would've been thrown right into the fire too.

Also, despite the flashy numbers he's put up, Rodgers hasn't been nearly as successful as the analysts make him out to be.

In 2008, his first year at the helm, Rodgers led the Packers to a 6-10 record despite being given virtually the same roster to work with that Favre piloted to a 13-3 mark and an NFC Championship Game appearance the season prior.

He repeatedly folded under the pressure and the Packers lost games by 3, 3, 1, 4, 3, 4, and 3 points.

This season he's already lost the two biggest games on the schedule—against the Vikings—and in the process has made both McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson look bad in choosing him over Favre.

He's also lost to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Packers, preseason darlings to come out of the NFC, are just 5-4 and on the fringe of playoff contention.

While Rodgers has been lauded for his 17-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio, he has shown little pocket awareness and taken far more sacks than his beleagured offensive line deserves to be blamed for.

Rodgers' defenders point out that taking a sack is a smarter play then throwing a pick, as Favre often did with the Packers. But the smarter play still would be to throw the ball away, or to a hot receiver, or to see the blitz coming and audible into a better play.

Indeed, Rodgers has been better than Smith thus far in their nascent careers, but the gap isn't as wide as people think, and Rodgers has been given every possible advantage while Smith has had to overcome obstacle after obstacle.

Rodgers couldn't overcome Favre's ghost in the two biggest games of his career, so it wouldn't be surprising at all to see him come up short once more against the other quarterback he'll always be compared to.

This argument hasn't been settled.

Not yet.

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A Win in Green Bay: How the 49ers Can Beat the Packers

Andy Bensch — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:22:50 -0500

After the San Francisco 49ers broke their four game losing streak by narrowly beating the Chicago Bears last week, the team had a couple days to relish in the victory.

However, three days after pulling out their first win since week four, the division leading Arizona Cardinals matched the 49ers with another win of their own.

Unfortunately for San Francisco, the Seattle Seahawks couldn't hold onto a seven point half-time lead and the Cardinals now remain two full games ahead of the 49ers.

If the red & gold have any hope of making the playoffs this year, it will have to come by winning the division.

And in order for that to happen, the 49ers are going to need to win a game in which they have no business winning.

The only two games remaining on their schedule that fit this profile are at the Philadelphia Eagles later in the year and at the Green Bay Packers this weekend.

If you aren't a follower of either the Niners or the Pack, you might not be aware of just how little success San Francisco has had against Green Bay.

The 49ers have not beaten the Packers in the regular season in almost 20 years. You have to go back to the 1990 regular season to find the last time the 49ers won a regular season contest against the Pack.

San Francisco won that game by a 24-20 final at Lambeau and in order for them to break their current 0-4 streak in the state of Wisconsin, they are going to have to put up over 20 points once again.

However, if the 49ers attempt to play the same offensive style that limited them to just 10 points in their win against the Bears last week, they might just get shut out.

Even though it may not be cold enough to snow in Green Bay, the temperature is bound to be below 40 on Sunday with the windchill near freezing and a possibility of rain.

Combine the weather with a Packers secondary featuring Charles Woodson, Al Harris, and Nick Colllins, saying Alex Smith is going to face an uphill battle throwing the football would be an understatement.

So how can the 49ers put up 20+ points? The answer is simple, put the ball on the ground and keep Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers off the field.

Rodgers, the quarterback the 49ers passed on during the 2005 draft, is currently on pace to throw for over 4300 yards, 30 touchdowns, and just nine interceptions.

Much like games against the Texans and Colts, the 49ers can ill afford to get into an offensive shootout against the Packers.

San Francisco will not win this game 38-35; it's just not going to happen.

In order for them to win, they have to get Frank Gore at least 25 carries, if not 30 if they want to come away with a victory.

With the offensive line being as inconsistent as it has been thus far, simplifying the game will allow the 49ers to limit the mistakes.

Pounding the rock will also help benefit the potential passing game with Smith at quarterback.

Despite the fact the winning formula includes a heavy douse of Gore running the ball, Smith is going to have to make some big throws in certain situations to keep the Packers defense honest.

But over the last few weeks, Smith has essentially been dropping back and throwing out of the pocket. On numerous occasions he has attempted to fit the ball into windows that only Peyton Manning and Tom Brady can fit balls into.

Now this isn't Smith's fault, he can only run the plays called by offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye.

However, if Raye has any wits about him at all, he will start to put Smith in situations that allow him to succeed.

Smith, whose best asset is clearly his mobility, needs to be rolled out of the pocket and allowed to throw on the run or in space.

How many times have we seen similar quarterbacks make big plays down field while outside of the pocket? Guys like Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Romo, and Donovan McNabb are always seen making throws outside the hash marks up by the line of scrimmage.

The best chance Smith is going to have to make that clutch throw for a big first down is when he has the ability to read the defense away from the pocket and away from pressure.

However, if the 49ers continue to call plays that simply have him drop back in the pocket and throw down field, the interceptions are bound to continue and if San Fran starts turning the ball over, there going to have little to no chance of beating the Packers.

But if the offense can follow the aforementioned parameters and execute, it will allow their defense to stay fresh enough to perform their game plan for a full 60 minutes.

Defensively, the 49ers need to bring every single blitz package in their play book and bring it hard on Rodgers.

If Green Bay has any problems, it is with their pass blocking. Despite being a game above .500 at 5-4, the Packers have allowed an NFL worst 41 sacks this season. Nine more than the next worst team, the Kansas City Chiefs.

Granted, the 49ers are tied for 21st in the league when it comes to sacking the quarterback, they have the ability to give opposing offenses fits if they can stay fresh enough for the entire game.

Just three weeks ago, the 49ers sacked Peyton Manning three times even though the Colts had allowed just allowed two sacks all season long before that game.

The pass rushing ability is clearly evident on the 49ers defense, they just need to start letting their pass rushers do what they do best and let them take advantage of Green Bay's poor pass protection.

Linebackers Manny Lawson and Parys Haralson need to be bringing pressure on the majority of snaps on Sunday and when you add in middle linebacker Patrick Willis and defensive end Justin Smith, these four players in particular are going to have to step up their game and attack Green Bay's offensive line.

Assuming the 49ers coaching staff has the wherewithal to create a game plan in this fashion, then San Francisco has a significant chance of coming away with a victory.

But if they continue to fail at putting pressure on the quarterback like they did against Atlanta and Houston, the defense will be shredded apart by Green Bay's passing attack.

However, that won't even matter if the 49er coaches continue to put more faith in Smith as a pocket passer than they put in Gore as a tailback.

For the sake of 49ers fans, let's just hope Mike Singletary puts together an adequate game plan for beating Green Bay.

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